Woman Last Seen

by Adele Parks

• ISBN10: 0778312046
• ISBN13: 9780778312048
• Publish Date: 1 February 2022 (first published 27 May 2021)
• Publish Status: Forthcoming
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Woman Last Seen is the latest novel written by Adele Parks, a thriller author I generally really enjoy. Truth be told, I expected Woman Last Seen to come up in the latest BOTM round of choices. Guess I was wrong on that front!

Two women disappear without warning. Did they leave of their own volition, or were they taken? That is up to Detective Clements to uncover. The first woman, Leigh Fletcher, was supposedly happily married and a good stepmother. The second, Kai Janssen, married a man and then disappeared in the same week.

Neither woman appear to have left much evidence behind, though both husbands are grieving at the loss. They have no idea where the women went and can't understand what has happened. Are they connected? Or is it a horrible coincidence?

“I think that’s the hardest lesson I have had to learn as a parent; no matter how much I try, I am not able to guarantee my sons’ happiness and success.”

Woman Last Seen is another solid thriller/mystery novel by Adele Parks. I wouldn't go so far as to say it was my favorite – but it was enjoyable. It has a lot of classic thriller vibes and tropes, which can be fun.

Naturally, the most significant plot of Woman Last Seen revolves around the two women who disappeared without a trace. If you love sleuthing your way through a missing-person novel, then this is arguably going to be an enjoyable experience for you.

I'll admit that the first third of this book (give or take) is a bit on the slow side. Thankfully, when things do pick up, they do so quickly. The transition is borderline jarring, but it wasn't off-putting. And it came just in time to make readers become reinvested in the story.

Woman Last Seen was a dark, gripping, and easily binged book. Sometimes those are the best types of thrillers, at least as far as I am concerned.

Thanks to MIRA and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Jeff Sexton]

I DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT COVID IN FICTION!!!!! I think I might have to start waging a similar war on this as I do with 'prooftexting' in Christian nonfiction - an automatic star deduction every time I see it, which is the case here. Granted, it wasn't *as* prevalent as I've seen other books (as this book takes place in the days just before England initiated its lockdown), but I personally do not want to see it AT. ALL.

Outside of the COVID elements (which were really more tangential to the story anyway and could have been easily eliminated, which makes it even more infuriating that they were included), this book has a slow build through the first third or so... and then it begins picking up steam. (Both bedroom and motion.) Parks does a pretty solid job of tossing in believable suspects, to the level that I personally was completely wrong about a couple of characters, and I didn't peg the ultimate person responsible basically until Parks made it very blatant as to who it was.

Overall a solid work of suspense/ mystery hampered by the unnecessary inclusion of COVID. Recommended, if you don't mind reading about COVID.

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Having enjoyed the author's work in the past, I jumped at the chance to read her latest novel, Woman Last Seen.  Parks delivered a tale that will stun readers with its twists and many turns. 

Ok! What did I just read? I can’t believe I actually sat and read Woman Last Seen, gave up precious hours only to receive an ending that has me wanting to throw things. After all the jaw dropping twists, to deliver an ending that leaves the reader high and dry, is just plain cruel. I like closure in the books I read, especially thrillers. Well, this one left me trying to create my version of the outcome.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the book started out slow. When I say slow, I mean at a snail’s pace. I was subjected to a lengthy, boring introspection by Leigh, one of two women whose husband reported her missing. I considered throwing in the towel, then the author dropped a bomb, which made me reconsider giving up. The story started developing nicely after that, despite moments of tiresome introspection by each of the characters. I tried to figure who was behind the women’s’ disappearance and I narrowed it down to one person. My conclusion was spot on.

Now as for the characters. Goodness gracious, they were all abhorrent, well, except for twelve-year-old Seb. Their judgemental attitude and their constant justification of their actions made me hopping mad. Despite my dislike of them, I had some empathy for them. Regardless of their questionable actions, they were all victims.

Secrets, lies and deceit were the cornerstone of this story. Secrets and the truth have a strange way of coming to light and when it does, the domino effect can be far-reaching as the Woman Last Seen so aptly demonstrates.
It had the potential to be a five star read, but the start and especially the anti- climatic end took led to the deduction of stars.

NARRATION

The book was narrated by new to me narrator, Laura Aikman. I enjoyed her performance, which I credit to getting me through the first part of the book. She gave life to the characters. I would definitely listen to her again. 

This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading